Matt Tuckey is a writer from Oldham, England. He covers celebrities, night life, Manchester, fitness, creative writing, social media, confidence and events. Some of this may, in some way, help others. Or maybe it'll just entertain you for a while.

Saturday, 31 March 2018

Over
the last few Saturdays I've detailed my struggles with trying to get
the government to grasp that I have brain damage, memory difficulties
and depression, and that these are having certain lifelong effects on
me.

HMRC
have looked into last year's tax credits award and have decided that
I owe them £416. After tax, this is about half my monthly wage. It's
not a small sum to me. I've asked them to look into this again, and
they are sticking to their story.

Added
to this, I'm finding conflicting stories as to whether I'm eligible
for tax credits at the moment. ATOS only awarded me the Mobility
element of PIP and not the Daily Living component. I understand it's
this latter element that would allow me to claim tax credits if I
work less than 25 hours a week (I'm on 22.5).

After
a meeting with my manager, and a look into the tax credits
calculator, it appears like I should be eligible for a certain
amount. By the 5th April, it appeared, I should have heard
back from HMRC.

Well,
I have. They still want the £416. Apparently I forgot to reply to a
letter from 25th January last year, a 'TC818A' (I have no
recollection of this, but hold in mind the condition that makes me
eligible for benefits in the first place).

What
a shocking state of affairs. I phoned HMRC numerous times and not
once did they mention this form. I would have written it down and
acted on it. So, I now have to pay this 3-figure sum back, at a time when I'm
making my wage, plus the smaller mobility element of PIP. Before PIP
was introduced and my DLA was stopped, I was on both elements of DLA,
and WTC with the DLA element. I was eligible for free prescriptions
and dental treatment. Now I'm not eligible for anything other than
the element of PIP.

This
is happening in 2018.

I
think there may be other letters that I've misplaced or not acted
upon, and this is an issue I've had my whole life. I can't keep up
with the stream of formal letters that, largely, don't make any sense
to me. I've applied for assistance from a few departments in relation
to this, but I expect that because I work in local government and I
speak well, and because I've never been arrested, that application
has probably been ignored.

Things
are up and down in work at the moment but on Tuesday I'll update my
manager and see if he can make sense of this. If you think you can
advise (layman's terms, please) tweet me.

By Maundy Thursday,
before Good Friday and the Easter binge, I still hadn't eaten any
chocolate or takeaway food. I'd been good. I managed to get to the
gym early to get some endurance work in. I spent four and a half
hours hammering the treadmill and the rest of the equipment for the
above exercises. I walked into the gym weighing 80.4kg.

I did 5 10-minute
runs, each one increasing in speed by increments of .1kmph. The last
run was 10.1kmph.

My bench press
record from around September 2014 was 103.75kgs, the total amount
that was available on the seated chest press in my previous gym. The
current gym's seated chest press only goes up to 90kg- I did this on
the Maundy Thursday.

I used the Smith
machine for the continuation of the bench press work. I couldn't find
the record I had for this particular piece of equipment, but this
time I got up to 57.5, way below my seated chest press record. I was
gassed by this point, though.

My dips record was
70, from January this year. I managed to match it.

My horizontal
dumbbell fly record I couldn't get anywhere near. I think when I beat
this PB last time, in 2015, I was going into the gym before work
while it was quiet, on numerous days, just to hammer this movement.
The free weights and benches are the most popular part of the gym, so
it's really hard to get on these, hence it being such an old PB.

After my final run
I weighed in at 79.7kg. Then, logically, I went to The Ram's Head pub in
Saddleworth with the family, and devoured an absolutely stacked
cheeseburger and chunky chips, and washed it all down with two
Southern Comfort and Cokes. So there's a good possibility I'll be
above 80 again. Of course, I don't own any scales and the gym is
closed for Easter, so who knows.

I've kinda got a
taste for healthy food, though- let's hope it stays. I wouldn't mind
seeing my abs again at some point in my life.

Monday, 26 March 2018

First,
Deansgate members bar The Milton Club closes down. It'll be missed,
but a small club with a capacity of a couple of hundred can't get by
if it's only busy on Saturday nights for 4 hours. Their one-off
events were superb (singers and DJs who dropped out of the limelight
making guest appearances are fond memories of mine), but their
regular weekend nights were bland, with a lot of violence. Their
drinks were stupidly overpriced, hence the poor turnout. It'll be
missed.

I
guess Artisan
will be a little busier over the next couple of weeks. It'll be a
while before I get a chance to check, though, as my weekend's full
and Spinningfields isn't on the cards. Easter weekend starts with a
bang- or a beat drop, perhaps. Manchester Cool Bars
is dropping into Impossible for Mic
Check Karaoke- a hip hop open mic evening.

Do
you fancy busting a rhyme or spitting some bars? Now's your chance,
in one of Peter St's coolest venues. I know I'll be getting on stage,
so if anything come watch me make a dick out of myself.

I
have nothing for the Friday, but Saturday night will be one of the
most explosive nights of the year when Britain's Anthony Joshua puts his IBF, WBA and IBO
titles on the line. Also offering up a belt is New Zealand's WBO
champ Joseph Parker. Prediction:
Joshua by TKO, round 10. Both fighters are currently unbeaten. Both
have their belts on the line.

Sunday, 25 March 2018

Andy's Man Club Oldham helped out with Sport Relief on Saturday with a Spinathon. I jumped on the bike before and after a gym session. So close to my target weight now. It was also great to be involved in a worthy charity 'helping more than 50,000 people, in the UK, living with a mental health problem.' They also provide anti-malarial drugs and maternal, neonatal and child health funding to Africa.

Saturday, 24 March 2018

Ebay.
Amazon. ASOS. We're
all familiar with the concept of online shops, be it the overarching
aforementioned brand names or smaller niche shops that you stumble
across when you're Googling a specific product. For example, I once
bought MMA ear protectors (to stop the build-up of cauliflower ear
during grappling) from an MMA shop specifically selling martial arts
training gear. The rise of internet shopping might be a normal part
of our lives now, but how would this build confidence?

There's
two types of internet purchase. There's the type that you can get at
any time. Want to do a Tesco shop? It's there for you, and if they
usually have something (sweet potatoes, for example) they'll- more
often than not- have some in supply. Then, there's the short-term
offer. A store might have a supply of a certain signed book, or a
fashion item of which they have 20 pieces. These will sell, and-
importantly- they might not be restocked.

Let's
say you go onto ASOS and you see a jacket you like. You can put it in
your saved items, along with any other product you like the look of.
Maybe you'll buy it later, you think. You carry on browsing, and then
the rest of life- work, sleep, family- takes over and you forget to
actually make the purchase. You come back the next day, and guess
what? They've sold out. They've only got a couple in but they're two
sizes up from yours. Why didn't you just buy it when you had the
chance?

Because
you didn't act.

Perhaps,
like me, you're a hesitant, non-impulsive individual. You weigh
things up a lot. You overthink, instead of acting immediately. For
me, this is a confidence issue. I've noticed this with ASOS, but more
recently I've discovered Depop.
Depop is a mobile phone app that I would describe as being a mix of
Amazon and Instagram.
It's a platform for people to show off what they are selling, and a
place for buyers to find mostly second-hand fashion items. I've been
looking for Saucony trainers for a while, but every pair I've seen in
store have been extortionate. Hence, why not buy a pair second-hand?

I
started using the app to look for size 9 Men's Saucony trainers. I
filtered the results to get exactly these specifics, and then I
'liked' a few of the results (there are 'like' and 'save' functions-
as of yet I'm not sure the difference). Within days, a few of these
showed up as 'sold,' with SOLD written across the picture for
emphasis.

I
spotted a pair of these Grid 9000 'Halloween Pack' running shoes.
I've used this brand before and they were great for fitness, but I
particularly like the colours on these.

Typically,
though, I put them in my Liked list, and soon enough someone bought
them. There are other size 9 Saucony shoes on the site, but none as
cool as those.

I
didn't act. I ummed and ahhed, and I lost them. This problem I have
with internet shopping, and with my own ability- or inability- to act
fast. My hesitancy is possibly the biggest problem in my life. I lose
opportunities with jobs, with clothes, with women- pretty much every
area of my life is tainted. It's time for me to be a little bit impulsive- to
throw myself into things and figure them out as I go along.

In
Arnold Schwarzenegger's autobiography, Total Recall: My Unbelievably
True Life Story, he ends the book by listing his rules for living a
successful life. Quote:

2)
Don't overthink. If you think all the time, the mind cannot relax.
The key thing is to let the mind and the body float. And then when
you need ot make a decision or hit a problem hard, you're ready with
all of your energy... Back in 1980, when Al Ehringer and I wanted to
develop a block at the end of Main Street in Santa Monica, the
investors we were bidding against for the property let their worries
hold them back... We didn't dwell on challenges but the rival bidders
did... they dropped out while we raised our bid, and we got the
property... Within 2 years we were able ot convert the lease into a
purchase, and our gamble started to pay off; 3100 Main Street turned
out to be a phenomenal investment... If you freeze, you lose.

Arnie
and Al saw their opportunity and acted immediately, with the
intention of sorting out any problems later on.

Let's
say you spar in boxing or MMA. Step forward and throw the first
punch. Be offensive, not defensive. Let's say you're in a bar and you
spot someone you want to talk to. Do it. The worst that can happen is
that they are an arsehole, and that's a reflection of them, not you.
(Although, it's easier said than done.)

Acting
quickly may result in problems, but hesitating ALWAYS will, so bear
this in mind when you're facing a challenge- but at least take this
route with internet shopping first.

Manchester Cool Bars
is braving the cold this Friday to head to the Northern Quarter to
tour a few bars. Organiser Silvia has planned it out- I know it will
be the Stevenson Square area which may mean dropping into the
Spanish-style Flok bar (I recommend) and
hopefully the 1920's style
Fitzgerald (also a favourite).
We're starting in Brazilian-style bar
Favelas.
It's supposed to be raining lightly with a breeze, which is a hell of
a lot better than the weather we've just had. Don't let the elongated
winter put you off!

Saturday, 17 March 2018

I've been in the same job
on the same wage with the same organisation, working the same hours,
for a decade now. Recently, due to governmental reforms, I've seen my
income plummet after DLA was scrapped and PIP implemented. As a
result of this, for some complex reason, my Working Tax Credits were
also stopped. I spent a long time on the phone to HMRC trying to find
out why this was, to no avail, then I got some pretty clear answers from a
Welfare Rights officer. Also, over the last two weeks I've met with my
manager, visited Get Oldham Working,
an organisation who 'can help you get the skills to secure the
career you want,' and I've visited Positive Steps, an 'integrated support
services for families, young people and adults.'

Everyone I've dealt with has been
hugely helpful. Positive Steps have arranged another meeting with the
Citizen's Advice Bureau- hopefully it'll be a day I can do, although
in all honesty I'm not sure what I'd be talking about- not much has
changed since my last CAB appointment.

Positive Steps also explained:

·Job centre advisors unfortunately only work with
people who are unemployed.

In
a separate meeting with my manager, we used an online benefits
calculator that suggests I should be in receipt of over £200 a month
in Tax Credits. After logging into my account it showed that HMRC
couldn't deal with my claim online, but that they received something
(it isn't clear what) in February. Something is being processed and I
should receive more information by the 5th April. It's
probably the letter I sent them asking about why my Working Tax
Credits were stopped, and complaining about the horrendous procedure
I've been thorough when asking for information.

That
said, Citizen's Advice told me that my letter has probably been
ignored as it isn't on a 'dispute form,' something NOBODY told me
anything about- certainly not anyone at HMRC.

I
guess I'll find out after the 5th. I'm meeting Get Oldham Working again next week.

Thursday, 15 March 2018

I've
just got back from another launch, again ran by Steph Ledigo at
Ledigo PR. This time, Steph and her team were organising the opening
of Neon Health Kitchen, a new restaurant on Wilmslow's Water Lane.
The promo Email explains that 'Neon
are well known in the area for providing quality service at their 5*
PT studios in both Alderely Edge & Hale,' and have now branched
out into the world of food.

Sunday, 11 March 2018

Every
time I go out with this one particular friend she somehow works her
charms and blags VIP for the group, and I end up not going home until
7am. Last night was one of those nights. (I ended up drunk alone in a casino watching Scott Quigg get beat.)

We
started in Dirty Martini and made our way over to
Impossible for the Casa Loca party.
The stunningly-lit venue plays home to a retro circus act, but one
featuring a man hammering a nail into his own face and a skinny bloke
in striped pyjamas sword-swallowing and juggling at the same time.

Saturday, 10 March 2018

This
week I met with a Welfare Rights officer to try to get to the bottom
of why my Working Tax Credits were stopped. It took a bit of
explaining on my part, but the officer, we'll call him SA, described
clearly enough what had happened and what the situation is.

Until
the end of 2016 I was on both elements of DLA, WTC and the DLA
element to WTC. My DLA was stopped and I was asked to apply for PIP.
I applied, was offered an interview, was assessed, and was flat-out
refused. I applied for Mandatory Reconsideration, with the help of SA
and his colleagues (and my parents, and Independence and Prevention
Officers), and I was awarded one element of PIP- the Mobility element
at £20 a week.

Not
long after this, my WTC were stopped. This was, according to the HMRC
letter, due to 'a change in my circumstances informed to us by a
third party.' I inquired. It turned out my WTC were 'under review,'
and that I should phone back in a month. I did. I got the same
message. I waited another month, and got the same message again.
Eventually I got a letter saying that I'D informed THEM of a change,
and that my WTC (which had already been stopped) would be 'stopped.'

I
sent a letter of complaint to HMRC asking why this was. Of course,
the letter did not garner a response.

After
meeting with SA this week, I've found out why all this happened, and
it's something that HMRC could very easily have told me if they
wanted.

Some
people were moved automatically from DLA to PIP. I was not. Because
there was a break between these two benefits, that break notified
HMRC of a change, and hence my WTC were looked into. I had been on
both elements of DLA- Care and Mobility. The Care element was the
part that allowed me to receive WTC, despite working fewer hours than
would normally be allowed. (30 hours is standard; I work 22.5.) As
ATOS only awarded me the Mobility element, I don't qualify for WTC
any more. If I worked 30 hours, I could apply for WTC at the normal
rate (dependant on my income). I would not qualify as a 'disability
claimant' though, despite being on PIP, because the Mobility payment
doesn't cover that.

I'm
one of thousands of people who were moved from DLA to PIP. DLA was
the least-abused benefit of all of them, and it's been
well-documented that there was no need to scrap it other than
cost-cutting. Therefore it's fair to assume that there will also be
thousands of people who also lost that Care component, and can now no
longer claim WTC. This will save the government millions. As many
news outlets have covered, including The Independent,
nearly half of all claimants- including myself- saw their income
reduced or stopped altogether. That's how you know this isn't about
'updating a failing system,' or 'making the benefits system more
appropriate for the individual,' or whatever Newspeak the Tories want
to reel off- it's about cost-cutting, plain and simple.

I
now need to look for another job. I either need a second job that
fits around my current, part time one, or another job with more
hours. Either that, or my current employer needs to offer me more
hours. I just wish someone would have told me this earlier.

I
didn't expect to witness this impromptu karaoke performance either,
but when I dropped into the open mic night at Wilmslow's cosy but
tidy Symposium last night I wasn't
sure what to expect- partly because I'd lost the email invitation
from the talented Steph at Ledigo PR and I couldn't remember what it said.

Providing
the acoustics, and a few covers of their own, were The Mad Hatters.
Great manic music, including a high-speed indie version of Sisquo's
Thong Song.

Duncan James

Nicole Barber-Lane screen left- I forgot who the girl on screen right is! Any ideas?

Scott Thomas

A
great evening, with friendly guests. I found it easy to chat to
people, male and female, verified and unverified, after rolling in solo. I would have jumped
on the karaoke myself, only they had no screen for lyrics. That was
the only thing missing. Get in touch with Ledigo PR to keep up with
their next events!

Sunday, 4 March 2018

Social
life: on hold. The only interesting thing I've done is drop into Club LIV for a Couture Clothing sale. The club opened up
on Friday morning selling men's and women's sportswear. Great gear,
including my purchases: a fluffy zipped hoodie and a bomber jacket.
Was hoping for a full tracksuit- maybe next time!

The Sonique Nightdidn't happen- the weather put people off, and getting people to come
to a dance music night is hard these days. RnB has got way too
popular and has pushed out a lot of house music events and clubs. Plus the house music people are, more often than not, having babies.

Also,
one inevitability has happened: swanky nightclub Suburbia has closed.
It might have looked all posh, but I had the place sussed out early-
the John Dalton St venue was full of plastic gangsters, and played
the same RnB music as most other places. I got a bad vibe whenever I
went there. Too many dickheads fighting.

Saturday, 3 March 2018

One
of the reasons I started blogging in late 2006 was that I couldn't
keep track to what was happening in my life. I was forgetting what I
had done, and what I needed to do, and there were problems I was
facing that I felt sure others would be dealing with too. I wasn't
particularly confident enough to properly describe them online,
though, that being part of the problem. Eventually, though, my
parents encouraged me to write about these issues, seeing as after
years of NHS treatment, I was a fair bit more capable than I used to
be.

Rather
than complain about the problems I'm facing, I'd prefer to explain
them and describe the situation, and possible routes forward, or lack
thereof. A day at a time, I'm jotting down these concerns when they
come to me, using
Omninotes,
an app on the Google play store. I can put all these ideas in one
bullet- point-listed note titled Psychology Saturdays, whenever they
come to me, wherever I am. Every Saturday I look at my calendar and
see what has happened, and what will happen, to come up with ideas
for a post. If there's nothing that relates to events at this
particular time (e.g. depression support group Andy's Man Club
taking over a Parkrun, something I've
covered a couple of times) then I can fall back on stockpiled ideas
saved in the app.

On
the issue of OmniNotes- there is one problem I've found with the
incorporation of multimedia. With Microsoft's OneNote, I could drag
pictures into the middle of a block of text, or to the end. With
OmniNotes, any picture I add to a text note gets slammed in right at
the top. This means I I want to write something about that particular
picture, and then perhaps include another picture with a different
paragraph of accompanying text, they get separated.

This
week there are a few small points to make. I managed to get another
NHS fine refunded on the grounds of memory difficulties. I appreciate
their understanding and their acceptance that I wasn't trying to rip
them off. I was getting confused between PIP, which doesn't cover
prescriptions or dental treatment, and Working Tax Credits, which
were stopped. There has been no explanation for this stoppage.

In
fact, I've filed a complaint against HMRC over the way they have
handled my case. I've waited over a year to find out why my WTC were
stopped- I've received no explanation. Is it to do with my hours of
work, which haven't changed? Is it the fact that I was allocated PIP,
which would have been a change in my circumstances, albeit one that
came from HMRC's own office? Is it some other thing I'm completely
forgetting about? Nobody knows. HMRC won't tell me.

I've
made numerous calls to the HMRC helpline, which has frequently been
engaged- no ability to queue, no recorded message- just an engaged
tone, as if there's one handset receiving all the calls from the UK.
When I have got through, I've been told my case is 'under review'-
but eventually they sent me a letter saying that I'd 'informed them
of a change,' so they were 'stopping' my WTC. What was this change
THIS time? And did they not know they'd stopped it already? Do they
not realise how insulting that is to some one who has already told
them their disability stops them understanding formal documentation
anyway?

What
a joke. I have a Welfare Rights appointment on Thursday- I hope I can
explain my situation properly to him, and I hope I understand what
the officer advises me to do.

Would You Like to Write for Power is a State of Mind?

Here at PIASOM I'm looking for guest bloggers to get involved. I want you to:1) Tell the world about the superb city of Greater Manchester. If know of something quirky, awesome, bizzare or important happening, why not get involved?2) Show me your ideas of producing great literature. Do you perform excercises at a writing group? Do you compete in poetry slams / rap battles? Are you setting up a magazine? Tell me and get your writing seen. More info:http://powerisastateofmind.blogspot.com/2011/03/would-you-like-to-write-for-power-is.html